Archive for August, 2008

Aug 19 City Council Meeting – “Flex” URA and Blight Designation Postponed –

Tuesday, August 19th, 2008

The Loveland City Council has received a note attached to their agenda package explaining the Flex URA (Urban Renewal Authority) and now property blight designations for McWhinney Enterprises have been postponed until the September 2, 2008 council meeting. These items are still isted on the public agenda.

People interested in this topic of giving the McWhinneys more discretion, power and authority over which of their own properties can receive special tax subsidies from city taxpayers (without the need for council approval) need to attend the September 2, council meeting now instead of the August 19, meeting.

The “Golden Nest Egg” (employee retirement benefits for the city manager and a few others if they retire early) issue will be brought back for a desicion at the Aug. 19 meeting. It failed in previous meeting when the Mayor was not in attendance but the Mayor has already agreed to follow the city manager’s direction on this so it is likely to pass on a 5-4 vote.

Feel free to post any comments regarding the URA or nest egg issues.

Posted in Flex-URA | 4 Comments »

Fire Chief Resignation Could Be Symptom of Larger Problem

Saturday, August 16th, 2008

In 2005 when City Manager Don Williams appointed Mike Chard as Loveland’s fire chief, Williams made an interesting comment. He was quoted in a City of Loveland press release saying, “Mike is appreciated and well respected for his emphasis on operations, his efforts to build efficiency without exceeding resources and his creative, most-bang-for-the-buck approach” To many, the statement appeared to say more about his ability to follow orders than to provide a high quality of public safety. Nine days ago Chard resigned his position after being placed on administrative leave beginning August 1, 2008. While the reasons behind his resignation have not been released, the interim fire chief said something equally telling. Merlin Green, who is filling the position temporarily, was quoted in the Loveland Connection saying, “We were all shocked at the announcement, but our focus is to maintain a positive image.”

For those focused on public safety instead of public image, this blog is for you to comment. Our story on this topic points to an incident some years back when Chard requested changing the city’s emergency response policy to reflect a “goal” of arriving in five minutes instead of the previous “requirement.”

Any comments?

Posted in City Manager | 6 Comments »

Aug. 5, 2008 Loveland City Council Meeting

Wednesday, August 6th, 2008

The Loveland City Council voted to waive the confidentiality requirements they imposed on themselves and members of the Open Lands Advisory Commission regarding two closed meeting held to discuss the possible acquisition of Staples Farm. The action was precipitated by requests from the commission members and councilors to discuss openly what was decided (or not) in private. City Manager Don Williams had informed the local press the City Council did not make any decision to buy Staples Farm. A number of commissioners and councilors felt this statement did not accurately reflect what was decided in the two private meetings and thus wanted permission to speak freely.

Four Council members also requested the “Golden Nest Egg” plan of employee health benefits for some employees be brought back to the council on August 19, 2008.

Assistant City Attorney Rene Wheeler committed a “crash and burn” in front of the City Council when they convened as the board of LURA (Loveland Renewal Authority). The Annual Report presented to council claimed the TIF (tax increment financing) was performing “as expected” despite poor performance. A number of councilors took issue with the conclusion and other comments throughout the report which they refused to endorse or accept. The report also contained a number of factual errors like which wards councilors represent and other factual or typographical errors.

Councilman Darryl Klassen deserves the kudos this week for standing-up for fiscal conservatism and not accepting inferior work or false conclusions by city staff. His tireless efforts to read AND UNDERSTAND what is before him is commendable.

Any comments by those who watched the meeting?

Posted in City Budget, City Council - Budget, City Council - General Issues | 9 Comments »